


Marilla and the Elemental Academy

by MystiKitten



Category: Original Work
Genre: Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, School, Witches, Wizards
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:48:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24492256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MystiKitten/pseuds/MystiKitten
Summary: Finally, Marilla Black was out of high school and about to enroll in the Elemental Academy to hone her power over water. With her older sister Plumeria and her cousin Diantha by her side, she finally feels like she can be herself. She soon gains a few familiars and some new friends, but an old threat returns not long after: "The Corruption." Thought to be dispelled a few years back, the Corruption comes back full force, feeding off everyone's negative emotions; teachers, students and familiars alike. Can the Corruption even be taken care of once and for all? Has one of Marilla's familiars been corrupted before? And what will happen if her mother finds out exactly where she ran off to...?





	1. Prologue

In this world, witches and wizards are humans with an extra chromosome or two that allows them to use magic. Most can only control one, two, maybe even three elements, but there are rare cases of master witches and wizards that can control most, if not all, elements.

After high school, teens are sent to an academy that specializes in magic so witches and wizards can hone their skills. Relatives and close friends of a witch and/or wizard are also sent there to be taught how magic works so they can help after their academic training is done.

A witch or wizard can gain several familiars by their side, and though they are able to have as many as they want, society views those who have more than five as greedy and selfish. Familiars can gain a human form once they become a year old and they share a close bond with their master.

Most witches and wizards end up taking classes at the Elemental Academy. The school reviews the basics and is known for giving their students challenges suited to them and their type and skill set of magic. And with the payment being cheaper than the other Academies out there, many view it as the best place to learn more advanced magical abilities.

However, a few years back, the school had been plagued with what many know now as “The Corruption,” where several students and familiars, including one of the principal's twin daughters, began to cause chaos and havoc by using evil magic (not to be confused with magic that uses the element of darkness). While most were able to snap out of it with the help of their friends and family, there were a few that needed to be... for a lack of a better word, eliminated, only to be revived with an advanced spell of healing to turn them back to normal.

Many think that the threat of the Corruption is gone, with no one under its spell any longer, but there are a few conspiracy theorists that believe it's still out there, lying in wait for its next victim...

~~~

It was like she stepped into an indoor zoo...

Cats. Dogs. Cockatoos. Alligators. Giraffes. There were all kinds of animals. Even ones she didn't know existed.

Marilla looked at the back of the store, and then she asked her mother, “Mommy? Why are there humans over there?”

“They are familiars whose masters have passed or abandoned them,” her mother sighed.

“Why are they humans?”

“Familiars can change form when they're old enough and have a witch to take care of them. Now could you stop asking questions so your sister can pick out a familiar?”

“I want a familiar. I want one of those.” The little blonde girl continued to point at the humans.

“I told you,” the woman growled. “We are here to get _Plumeria_ a familiar. You don't even have powers yet.”

“Yes I do!” Marilla complained. “You've seen what I do in the bathtub! The Water Show is my favorite thing to do!”

“All you do is splash around and make a mess for me to clean up! That's no power! Now zip your lips; I need to help your sister.”

Marilla frowned sadly; she hated it when mom raised her voice at her. Dad noticed his daughter's sad expression and walked up to her.

“Don't worry, Marilla. When you're a teen, you'll be able to get your own familiar as well.”

“Not unless I can convince mom I have power over water...” the girl pouted.

Dad winced; he hated to admit it, but she was right. For some strange reason, his wife refused to believe Marilla had control over water. That, and it was more than obvious that Plumeria was his wife's favorite child, despite him remembering her say that she wanted to have another child. Although, he also could remember she _was_ more than confident that Marilla was gonna turn out to be a boy. She always told him she was '150% sure it was gonna be a boy, and he wasn't gonna have any special powers.' Maybe that had something to do with it...

“I want a kitty familiar...” Marilla's voice brought her father out of his thoughts. He chuckled.

“Wouldn't you want an animal that liked water? Like a dolphin? Or a shark?”

“NO!” Marilla shouted, shaking her head vigorously. “What if it wants to eat me?!”

“If it's your familiar, it wouldn't want to eat you. It'd want to protect you.”

Marilla teared up. He sighed knowingly and hugged the young girl. “It's okay. You can get any familiar you want once you're Plum's age. Sorry for bringing it up.”

“Ugh, is she _still_ freaking out over that episode?!” Her mother groaned. “It's just a cartoon! It's not real!”

“You shouldn't have watched that show in the living room when you _knew_ she could walk in!” Marilla's father argued. “And she's a _kid_! It's real to her!”

“Plumeria was fine with it!”

“That's because she's older! She knows better! Marilla's only 10!”

Mom let out another exaggerated sigh. “I never should've had another kid. Why'd I let you convince me to have another?”

“ _I_ was the one that needed convincing! _You_ were the one that wanted another child!”

“Mom...”

The three of them looked at the dirty blonde-haired girl, whom held her arm out to show the bird on it. “I would like a toucan.”

“That's a beautiful choice!” Her mother complimented happily. “What kind is it?”

Plumeria checked the label on the cage. “It looks like a red billed toucan. I wanna name it Toutou.”

“'Tutu'? Like the ballet dress?”

“Kinda, but it's spelled t-o-u-t-o-u, because she's a toucan.”

Her mother giggled. “How cute. Let's go to the front then.”

Marilla and her father watched as her mother took her sister's free hand and walk to the front of the store. She sighed. What was wrong with her that made her mother not like her...?

“When we're done here, let's go to the nearby ice cream place. Just you and me,” her father picked her up in his arms. She smiled sadly and nodded as her father followed the rest of her family.


	2. Settling In

Marilla Black unlocked the front door to the dorm house and let her older sister, her sister's familiar, and her cousin in. She closed and locked the door and began to unpack her bags.

“This is so exciting!” Diantha squealed happily. “I can't wait to finally learn about magic! Thank you two for allowing me to be your +1.”

“I was so worried we'd be bothering you,” Plumeria sighed. “If I had known you were so interested, I would've asked you as soon as we knew our plan to get out of the house.”

“No problemo!” Diantha reassured Marilla's sister as the dirty blonde girl snapped her fingers to light a couple candles in the dining room. “Ooh! You're amazing! You sure you need to attend this school, Plum?”

“It's required for people like Marie and I,” Plum replied. “So we have an even better grasp on our abilities.”

“I'm gonna start unpacking our clothes, Plum,” Plumeria's red-haired friend called out from their room.

“Got it! Let me know if you need any help!”

“I think I got it!”

Marilla smiled. _It must be nice to have a familiar by your side, no matter what happens._ It might have helped her get through her one and only year of high school. Studying for that test to prove she was ready to take on senior year right off the bat was torture, but it was worth it. Because of that, she was able to graduate with her older sister and attend the academy along with her so she could get away from their mother.

_Mother..._

“She won't find out I've essentially ran away... right...?” she thought to herself out loud.

“Marie, she never even made sure you got up in the morning,” Plum reminded. “If it weren't for me, you'd have been late every single day! There's no way she'll know right off the bat you're gone.”

“But... she's gonna find out sooner or later, won't she?”

“We'll deal with that once it happens. I've compiled enough evidence to get a restraining order if it comes to that.” Plum walked over to her younger sister to pat her head. “Don't worry about it. She's not gonna take you back. I won't let that happen. How about you unpack the stuff that'll go into your room.”

Marilla nodded and went to work. After getting everything unpacked and having dinner with everyone, she closed the door to her room and slumped into her computer chair, turning on the laptop she had bought a couple days ago. She then took out a hard drive and plugged it into the laptop, extracting the games that were in it. She loved playing computer games; it helped her escape from reality.

She glanced through some RPGMaker games, some she's played, some she hadn't yet. She clicked on one she hadn't started yet, one whose preview screenshots piqued her interest, but just didn't have enough time to start yet.

The music on the start screen immediately relaxed her. It sounded like a lullaby, so much so that she felt ready to fall asleep right then and there. Not ready to go to sleep just yet, she clicked start, letting the music fade. After getting through the beginning cutscene, she started the usual grinding through enemies to gain levels. Once she had beat the first two bosses of the game and healed her team back up, she saved and closed the game, yawning as she got up and crawled into bed.

~~~

“ _Marilla! Get up! It's morning!_ ”

“H-huh? What?” The blonde girl shot out of bed, despite not being able to open her eyes quite yet. Once her sight finally cleared up, she saw a red-haired girl standing in the doorway.

“Plum's making breakfast,” Toutou told her master's sister. “She told me to wake you up.”

“Ah. Okay...” Marilla yawned as Toutou turned into a toucan and flew back into the kitchen. After stretching her arms, she got out of bed and slowly walked into the kitchen.

“There she is!” Diantha greeted her cousin. “Morning, Marie!”

“Mornin', Diane...” Marilla stumbled over to a nearby chair and sat down. Plum turns around and places a pancake on her sister's plate.

“Extra fluffy, just the way you like it,” her sister said with a grin. She sleepily smiled back and reached for the syrup.

“Isn't it a little early to be getting up?” Marilla asked.

“It's around the time you'd get up to get ready for school. Remember, tomorrow's the big day. I want to make sure you're ready.”

The blonde groaned. “I'm not a morning person like you two...”

“Too bad,” Plum shrugged as she poured some more batter into the pan. “Hey, after our tour around campus, do you three want to stop by the nearby beach? Maybe Marilla can show off her powers there.”

“A beach?” Marilla repeated, finally starting to wake up.

“I've never been to a beach before!” Toutou chirped. “I'm up for it!”

Diane nodded in approval, as well as Marilla. “Okay, then. After we all get ready, we'll go to take the tour, have lunch, and then head to the beach.”


End file.
